Cross-National Perspectives on Mental Health Systems and Services: A Survey of Twenty-Eight Countries.

Baskin, David

As mental health policies and systems become subject to legislative and public scrutiny, more information is needed to evaluate such programs in the United States and abroad. A cross-national survey of 42 countries and provinces compared mental health policies, mental health services, awareness of these services, evaluation, and financing. Notable differences were found that were not always accounted for in terms of level of economic development. Differences in the range of mental health services were not attributable to the type of financing, although economic development predicted gaps in service delivery. The trend toward community-based facilities was equally popular in countries other than the United States. While most countries collected information about mental illness, many did not tabulate or publicize their findings. The results suggest a need to continue this research on a systematic basis. (Author/JAC)